Tamiya Marder III

[rm6239]

Ok it's official, I'm going crazy , I thought I had posted this last night but I can't find it. So I will just have to redo it all.

Apologies to the mods if it is actually out there somewhere.

With Easter coming up and to get my feet back on the ground. I thought I would kick this build off.



The kit tracks are pretty nasty, so I thought it was a good excuse to try something different.



I've heard some different reports on the MK tracks so I thought I would try them myself.

Stage 1 is to build up the lower hull.



More progress.





Reasonably detailed gun. As to be expected from Tamiya, it's going together smoothly. The gun just slides into the cradle and will be removed to fit the gun shield.







Oops bit of a gap to fill there.



cheers

Rossco

[eastrock]

Rosco, the gun details look great, Nice progress!

[bigjohn]

Nice one Rosco, looking forward to this one

[TRM]

Count me in on this one Rossco!!! Making some nice progress too!!! Love the pea shooter!!! ;D

[bigjohn]

yeah, that pea shooter looks pretty impressive

[multicam]

Nice work so far! This will be fun to watch:)

[rm6239]

Eastrock, cheers mate.

BigJohn, thanks mate, gotta love a big gun.

T, welcome mate and thanks.

Multicam, it's fun so far mate but those tracks might generate some cussing.

cheers

Rossco

[spud]

oh nice one Rossco shouldnt take ya too long to build ;D

[rm6239]

Spud, yeah mate with Tamiya, it will take longer to paint and weather ;D.

Well as I said in the ME Group Build, lots of modelling time over the Easter break, so I reckon I better so you guys the progress.

Some more work on the lower hull





Going to be fun to paint the tools .

Some gun fun. Used Vallejo Panzer Grey primer, than a little bit of chipping with Natural Steel.







Then made a start on the MK tracks. First up remove them from the sprues.



Then to start putting them together.



As you can see I tried putting them all together then gluing. I changed approaches after this and used Super Glue and did each pin separately. Seemed to be quicker.

9 groups of 10 done so far. 95 or 96 per side according to the instructions.



Then to give myself a present , from the tracks. I started on some of the bits and pieces that will be included.



Thanks for looking in guys.

cheers
Rossco

[wbill76]

The Tamiya Marder III still holds up well as a kit, looks like you're moving right along with it! You've discovered the trick with MK tracks, it's easier to assemble them in sections and then piece the sections together as you complete them or complete all the sections then join them. I do recommend from experience that, depending on the sag you want, that you assemble the runs 1-2 links shorter than what is recommended and test each side individually...tiny little variations in the links can add up to enough MMs that you may not need the same number on both sides.

[tonylee]

Burn Baby Burn

Rossco when you're HOT you're HOT

Tony

[406 Silverado]

Ross is on fire. Very nice, and fast, progress Ross.

[rm6239]

Chris67, thanks mate, going to try something along the lines of the box art I think.

wbill76, cheers mate thanks for the advice, will take it onboard when the time comes.

TonyLee, thanks mate make me why don't you .

Rob, cheers, one day I will get the nerve together to try a derelict.

cheers

Rossco

[TRM]

Very nice Rossco!! Moving right along!!! ;D

[eastrock]

Rossco, that's a lot of sprues!! progress looking good!!!

[rm6239]

Hi guys

Eastrock, yeah lots of left over plastic from the MK tracks.

jackwagon, cheers mate, yeah just can't have an empty bench sitting there doing nothing ;D.

The thing I like about blogging a build, is the camera catches those bits the eyes miss, as you will see with these pics there are a few areas that I've missed with the Primer, they will be revisited.

Well the Vallejo Panzer Grey Primer is dark, so dark that the preshading didn't work to well, well you can't see it at all , so that made the next step more important. I used Vallejo Model Air German Grey to highlight the panels, I like the result.













Lots more work to do but it's starting to look ok. Still working on tracks .

cheers
Rossco

[bigjohn]

She's coming together nicely bud, Those tracks are going to look cool when its done. Keep up the good work.

[rm6239]

T, sorry I missed your post there mate, put it down to old age . Thanks.

bigjohn, cheers mate, I have high hopes for them.

cheers
Rossco

[wbill76]

Highlighting looks good, always an essential step when dealing with the dark panzer gray, really brings it to life.

[rm6239]

wbill76, thanks mate, almost tempted to change what I was going to do with it but sticking to my plans.

cheers
Rossco

[rm6239]

Hi Johanna, thanks I tend to mix paint on the fly so I can never get a consistent colour if I run out, so I try everything not to have to do it. ;D

Well 2 light filters of Mig Blue for Panzer Grey have been added, added some scratches and chips, I've added a few more than I would normally do but it should all turn out ok as the build progresses.









First coat of Klear has been added as well.

cheers
Rossco

[eastrock]

like the weathering process, Rossco the rivets really pop out

[rm6239]

Eastrock, thanks mate.

Started some oil work, just used Faded Grey on the panels and the floor, doesn't look like much has changed but it's given it another layer for depth.









Kinda looks like I'm going around in circles but hopefully it will all come together in the end.

cheers
Rossco

[bullardino]

Ross, it's a beauty

I missed this one, but now I'll keep an eye on it

[johnt]

Hi Rossco, it's coming to life! Nice work mate.

Cheers
JT

[multicam]

I agree with Dicky Rossco. This is looking great man. I love the colors you've achieved. Really cool.

[wbill76]

Sometimes the best effects are the subtle ones...you can definitely see a progression from your efforts, looking good!

[eastrock]

I agree with the guys, the details will pop out

[rm6239]

Bulladino, thanks mate.

JT, thank you sir.

jackwagon, cheers mate, will do .

MultiCam, thanks mate.

Chriss67, cheers.

wbill76, I have to admit I'm a big fan of the subtle weathering, sometimes I think to much so as it's not really seen.

Eastrock, cheers mate.

Added some dirty tones to the lower hull last night, another coat of Klear on for the decals (all 5 of them ), so the base colour is pretty much done, next up the very old and faded winter camo. That's going to have to wait until the weekend though .

cheers
Rossco

[406 Silverado]

Man that's looking good Rossco. The dark gray color looks perfect bud. Just the right shade of gray and not too over done with the light blue as some tend to do.